I make worlds and creatures.

Recently I was asked how to tile textures inside ShaderFX, so I figured I’d provide a little instruction today for everyone. It’s really very simple, but if you’re new to real time shaders and the tool, you may have no idea how to do it.

We have to consider that we can tile a texture in two directions – U and V – or horizontally and vertically. Just remember that V = vertical. Read More

I had some free time today to play around with 123D Creature from Autodesk. It’s a free app available on iOS devices and PC (so far) for sculpting 3D creature models and painting them in a manor not unlike the professional sculpting tool Mudbox. This is my first attempt at using the app. I have to say I really enjoy it. It performs well on my iPad 3, and really grabs you while you’re working, taking your mind off other things. Read More

I had a chance to play with Mixamo’s cloud service, which includes an auto-rigger, and animation clips. I uploaded my Undead Gunslinger base mesh. After only a few short minutes, and what was essentially a push button solution, he lives! Brains! Here’s a short video clip of him on the Mixamo website.

One of the largest issues in game development is that of scope management, particularly in this day of MAG (multi-action genre) games such as Grand Theft Auto. Game designers have a tendency to think big; more and bigger levels, more features. There is nothing wrong with this, in fact thinking big is critical to the process of developing innovative gameplay and innovative gameplay is the key to being successful as a company. Read More

I never really liked the look of watercolor paintings when I was young. Oil painting was where it was at for me. I preferred the opaqueness and richness of oils to the wispy, transparent look of watercolor. Then I was up around 3 AM the other night and watched one of those TV art teachers painting a watercolor landscape, and suddenly I wanted to do it. Read More